The present invention discloses a driving method for a source driver, for driving a source line of a display panel. The driving method includes the steps of: driving the source line with a first voltage or a second voltage smaller than the first voltage in a first driving cycle; driving the source line with the first voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle when the source line is driven with the first voltage in the first driving cycle; and driving the source line with an overdrive voltage in the second driving cycle when the source line is driven with the second voltage in the first driving cycle. The first voltage is a normal high voltage of the display panel, and the overdrive voltage is greater than the normal high voltage.
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1. A driving method for a source driver, for driving a source line of a display panel, the driving method comprising:
driving the source line with a first voltage or a second voltage smaller than the first voltage in a first driving cycle;
driving the source line with the first voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle when the source line is driven with the first voltage in the first driving cycle; and
driving the source line with an overdrive voltage in the second driving cycle when the source line is driven with the second voltage in the first driving cycle;
wherein the first voltage is a normal high voltage of the display panel, and the overdrive voltage is greater than the normal high voltage;
wherein the first voltage is converted from a first gamma code, and the overdrive voltage is converted from an overdrive gamma code greater than the first gamma code.
6. A display system, comprising:
a display panel, comprising a plurality of source lines;
a timing controller, configured to output a first gamma data, a second gamma data and an overdrive gamma data according to a first gray level data and a second gray level data;
a gamma voltage generator, coupled to the timing controller, configured to output a first voltage corresponding to the first gamma data, a second voltage corresponding to the second gamma data, and an overdrive voltage corresponding to the overdrive gamma data; and
a source driver, coupled to the display panel and the gamma voltage generator, configured to perform the following steps:
driving a source line among the plurality of source lines with the first voltage or the second voltage smaller than the first voltage in a first driving cycle;
driving the source line with the first voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle when the source line is driven with the first voltage in the first driving cycle; and
driving the source line with the overdrive voltage in the second driving cycle when the source line is driven with the second voltage in the first driving cycle;
wherein the first voltage is a normal high voltage of the display panel, and the overdrive voltage is greater than the normal high voltage.
2. The driving method of
3. The driving method of
4. The driving method of
driving the source line with a third voltage for a subpixel of the display panel according to a distance between the subpixel and a source driver outputting the third voltage.
5. The driving method of
driving the source line with the overdrive voltage for a subpixel of the display panel according to comparison of a gamma voltage for the subpixel with a summation of a plurality of previous voltages transmitted through the source line.
7. The display system of
8. The display system of
9. The display system of
driving the source line with a third voltage for a subpixel of the display panel according to a distance between the subpixel and the source driver.
10. The display system of
driving the source line with the overdrive voltage for a subpixel of the display panel according to comparison of a gamma voltage for the subpixel with a summation of a plurality of previous voltages transmitted through the source line.
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The present invention relates to a driving method for a source driver and a related display system, and more particularly, to a method of overdriving source lines for a source driver and a related display system.
In liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, insufficient charging is a prevalent problem widely discussed and considered. Since amorphous silicon thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD panels have become the mainstream of LCD panels, the insufficient charging problem becomes more serious due to the lower mobility of amorphous silicon. Also, with the evolvement of touch sensing technology, the in-cell touch scheme is widely used in the panel of mobile phones. The in-cell touch requires time division such that parts of the original display time are allocated to touch sensing operations. Further, with the higher resolution and higher screen-to-body ratio in modern mobile phone trends, a fixed display and touch period length needs to support more horizontal lines; that is, each horizontal line is able to utilize much shorter charging time compared to old LCD panels.
Overdrive is a driving technology commonly used to solve the insufficient charging problem. In the conventional overdrive methods, the gray level code is modified (or compensated) to a value further from the previous gray level code, allowing the source line to be driven to an over-high voltage level. However, the overdrive performance may not be satisfactory if the original gray level code approximates its maximum value while the overdrive operation requires a much higher value. This much higher value may not be reached due to the limitation of maximum gray level data. For example, if the gray level code changes from the minimum code L0 to the maximum code L255, the overdrive operation requires a higher code but the overdrive processing device can only output the code L255 in maximum; hence, the overdrive compensation for high gray level codes may not be effective, and the variation in high brightness cannot be well identified by users, resulting in reduced image quality in higher brightness.
Thus, there is a need to provide an effective overdrive method to provide satisfactory performance of overdrive compensation for high brightness and also solve the insufficient charging problem.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a novel overdrive method to drive the source line of the panel.
An embodiment of the present invention discloses a driving method for a source driver, for driving a source line of a display panel. The driving method comprises the steps of: driving the source line with a first voltage or a second voltage smaller than the first voltage in a first driving cycle; driving the source line with the first voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle when the source line is driven with the first voltage in the first driving cycle; and driving the source line with an overdrive voltage in the second driving cycle when the source line is driven with the second voltage in the first driving cycle. The first voltage is a normal high voltage of the display panel, and the overdrive voltage is greater than the normal high voltage.
Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a display system, which comprises a display panel, a timing controller, a gamma voltage generator and a source driver. The display panel comprises a plurality of source lines. The timing controller is configured to output a first gamma data, a second gamma data and an overdrive gamma data according to a first gray level data and a second gray level data. The gamma voltage generator, coupled to the timing controller, is configured to output a first voltage corresponding to the first gamma data, a second voltage corresponding to the second gamma data, and an overdrive voltage corresponding to the overdrive gamma data. The source driver, coupled to the display panel and the gamma voltage generator, is configured to perform the following steps: driving a source line among the plurality of source lines with the first voltage or the second voltage smaller than the first voltage in a first driving cycle; driving the source line with the first voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle when the source line is driven with the first voltage in the first driving cycle; and driving the source line with the overdrive voltage in the second driving cycle when the source line is driven with the second voltage in the first driving cycle. The first voltage is a normal high voltage of the display panel, and the overdrive voltage is greater than the normal high voltage.
These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings.
Please refer to
In order to realize the overdrive operation, the timing controller 102 may include a conversion unit 120, an overdrive unit 122, a lookup table (LUT) 124 and a buffer 126. The conversion unit 120 is configured to convert the received gray level data GLD into original gamma data GMD′ with one-to-one mapping. The conversion from gray level data to gamma data may follow any available gamma voltage standard such as Gamma 2.0, Gamma 2.2 or Gamma 2.4, and/or may be performed based on the image characteristics of the display panel 108 and/or based on the color corresponding to the gray level data GLD. The overdrive unit 122 then performs overdrive to generate the gamma data GMD according to the original gamma data GMD′ and the previous gamma data obtained from the buffer 126 by referring to the LUT 124. In an embodiment, the gray level data GLD ranges from gray level codes GL0 to GL255 (as an 8-bit data), and the gamma data GMD ranges from gamma codes GM0 to GM1023 (as a 10-bit data). In general, the gamma data may have a finer resolution to achieve higher precision of displayed color.
Different from the conventional overdrive method performed in the gray level domain, the overdrive method of the present invention is performed in the gamma voltage domain. In other words, in the embodiments of the present invention, the overdrive operation is performed on the original gamma data GMD′ after it is converted from the gray code. The original gamma data GMD′ is then converted into the gamma data GMD through the overdrive operation of the overdrive unit 122, and each gamma data GMD may be converted into a gamma voltage GV with one-to-one mapping.
Since the proposed overdrive operation is performed on the gamma data, the problem that the overdrive is not effective for high gray level data may be solved. In an embodiment where the gray level data GLD ranges from the gray level codes GL0 to GL255 and the gamma data GMD ranges from the gamma codes GM0 to GM1023, the gray level data GLD may be mapped to the original gamma data GMD′ with gamma codes from GM0 to a predefined gamma code, e.g., GM900. The original gamma data GMD′ are further mapped to normal gamma voltages outputted to the display panel 108 from the source driver 106. The overdrive operation allows the gamma voltage generator 104 to provide an overdrive gamma voltage higher than the normal gamma voltages. If the normal gamma voltage to be transmitted to the display panel 108 is the normal high voltage 5V (corresponding to the gamma code GM900), the overdrive voltage may be up to 5.5V (corresponding to gamma code GM1023). In such a situation, the gamma voltage generator 104 has headroom allowing the source line to be driven by an overdrive voltage higher than its normal high voltage. In this embodiment, the normal high voltage corresponds to the maximum brightness of each of the red, green and blue colors shown on the display panel 108. More specifically, the normal high voltage may entirely turn on the liquid crystal molecules to achieve the maximum brightness.
For example, please refer to
As mentioned above, in the conventional overdrive scheme, overdrive is performed in the gray level domain, and thus the maximum allowable overdrive output is limited to the maximum gray level data such as the gray level code GL255, which results in that the voltage outputted to the source line is limited under the normal high voltage. In comparison, in the gamma voltage generator of the present invention, overdrive is performed in the gamma voltage domain. With the well-configured conversion between gray level data and gamma voltages while the overdrive operation is performed after the gray level data is converted into the gamma data, the maximum voltage outputted to the source line may exceed the normal high voltage that may be converted from the maximum gray level of a color such as red, green or blue. In such a situation, the overdrive voltage compensation may exceed the limitation of the maximum gray level data, leading to better overdrive effects for higher gray level data.
In addition, since the overdrive operation is performed based on the gamma voltage to be transmitted to the source line, the degree of overdrive may be effectively predicted according to the voltage difference between two consecutive voltages transmitted from the source driver 106 to the same source line. For example, larger voltage difference between two consecutive voltages may be compensated by higher overdrive degree; that is, the gamma data GMD is configured to have a larger difference compared with the original gamma data GMD′. The related information may be recorded in the LUT 124 and referred by the overdrive unit 122, as shown in
In addition, since the conventional overdrive method is performed based on the difference of gray level data rather than the difference of gamma voltages, the compensation of overdrive may result in discontinuous in output voltages due to the nonlinear mapping of the gray level data and the gamma voltages. The discontinuity is easily observed by a user in an image having gradient color. In comparison, the overdrive method of the present invention is performed based on the difference of gamma voltages, where the problem of discontinuous output voltages after overdrive compensation may be prevented.
Please keep referring to
Please note that the insufficient charging problem may become more serious in a dual gate panel structure. Please refer to
In the conventional overdrive method performed in the gray level domain, the maximum voltage that can be used to drive the source lines is equal to the normal high voltage (e.g., 5V), and thus the red subpixels cannot achieve their target voltages with the driving voltages. In comparison, in the overdrive method performed in the gamma voltage domain as proposed by the present invention, the maximum voltage that can be used to drive the source lines may equal 5.5V, which exceeds the normal high voltage required to be received by the red subpixels. Therefore, the source driver may output an overdrive voltage higher than the normal high voltage, allowing the red subpixels to reach their target voltages. As a result, the overdrive method of the present invention may achieve better image quality in the dual gate panel by improving the color saturation, especially for display of pure color(s).
Please note that the present invention aims at providing an overdrive method in the gamma voltage domain based on the voltage values of the source line, where an overdrive voltage higher than the normal high voltage may be provided. Those skilled in the art may make modifications and alternations accordingly. For example, the values of the gray level codes, the gamma codes, the gamma voltages and the overdrive voltages are merely served as examples for illustrating the present embodiments. It is possible to use other voltage values and/or data codes according to system requirements. For example, the maximum overdrive voltage may be configured to be 5.3V, 5.5V, 6V or any other possible value. In the above embodiment, the overdrive method is applied to the dual gate structure, but should not be limited thereto. In addition to the abovementioned situation of pure color display, the overdrive method is applicable to any image or color where there is a voltage difference between two consecutive subpixel data to be transmitted to the same source line. Further, as for the above embodiments where the overdrive scheme is performed, the buffer may be a line buffer for storing a previous line data. In another embodiment, the overdrive scheme may refer to any previous subpixel data transmitted on the same source line. For example, a larger buffer circuit such as a frame buffer may be applied as the buffer 126 shown in
In an embodiment, the source line is driven with an overdrive voltage for a specific subpixel according to comparison of a gamma voltage for the specific subpixel with the summation of a plurality of previous voltages transmitted through the same source line. Note that the voltage of the specific subpixel connected to the source line may be influenced by previous voltages on the same source line, and these previous voltages may be of the current image frame or a previous image frame. Therefore, all of these previous voltages may be considered in order to generate a precise overdrive voltage. For example, as shown in
As mentioned above, the buffer 126 may be implemented as a frame buffer. In addition, the overdrive unit 122 is able to combine the previous voltages on the same source line. For example, a summation circuit or summation unit (not illustrated) may be included for combining the previous voltages. In an exemplary embodiment, the overdrive voltage for a specific subpixel may be determined based on the summation of the voltages of subpixels upper than the specific subpixel in the same image frame and the voltages of subpixels lower than the specific subpixel in the previous image frame. The summation result may be compared with the present voltage required to be received by the specific subpixel, so as to determine the overdrive voltage.
In an embodiment, the overdrive operation may be performed based on the distance between the subpixel and the source driver outputting voltages to the subpixel. Please refer to
Please note that different display panels may have different RC loading. For example, a panel with higher resolution and larger size may have larger RC loading, and therefore be configured to receive higher overdrive voltages for identical voltage difference on the source line.
The abovementioned overdrive method may be summarized into an overdrive process 90, as shown in
Step 900: Start.
Step 902: Drive the source line with a first voltage (the normal high voltage) or a second voltage smaller than the first voltage in a first driving cycle. If the source line is driven with the first voltage, go to Step 904; and if the source line is driven with the second voltage, go to Step 906.
Step 904: Drive the source line with the first voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle.
Step 906: Drive the source line with an overdrive voltage greater than the normal high voltage in a second driving cycle next to the first driving cycle.
Step 908: End
The detailed operations and alternations of the overdrive process 90 are illustrated in the above paragraphs, and will not be narrated herein.
To sum up, the present invention provides an overdrive method performed in the gamma voltage domain, where the overdrive operation is determined based on the voltage difference on the source line. Headroom is included in the gamma voltage domain, allowing the source line to be driven by an overdrive voltage higher than the normal high voltage; hence, the overdrive may be effective for high gray level data. In an embodiment, the overdrive unit may generate the overdrive gamma code by referring to a line buffer containing information of the gamma voltage transmitted to the source line in the previous driving cycle. In another embodiment, the overdrive unit may generate the overdrive gamma code by referring to a frame buffer containing information of the gamma voltages transmitted to the source line in the present frame and previous frame. The distance between the target subpixel and the source driver may also be considered, where the overdrive degree is predicted based on the RC loading of the panel, so as to obtain a precise overdrive voltage. As a result, the overdrive method of the present invention is able to provide satisfactory performance on overdrive compensation for high gray level data.
Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Tang, Huang-Chin, Chen, Hung-Hsiang, Liao, Yen-Tao, Lin, Yi-Wei, Yang, Jen-Ta
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